Thursday, September 27, 2007

"I wish I could sit before you and say we are the oldest continuously operating (one-room) brick schoolhouse in the nation," said Town Clerk Deborah Pellegri, a task force member assigned to investigate the question. "But I can't. It cannot be documented."

Pellegri was referring to Franklin's Red Brick School, built in 1833 and placed on the National Historic Register in 1976. Threatened with past closures that it survived, the school was placed on the chopping block this spring because the district faced a funding gap and administrators deemed the building too costly to run.

The mission of the FEF is to provide funding for competitive grants submitted by Franklin teachers and staff, district-wide, to support academic excellence and innovative practices within our classrooms----these are typically programs that are extensions of current curriculum which can not be supported financially within the existing district budget.

In past years, our primary source of funding was derived from our annual Spelling and Trivia Bees. However, as our district has grown, so too has the number of grant proposals submitted--thus we now also sponsor our Casino Night to support the demand for grant funding. Our First Casino Night last year was a great success--it proved to be a fun, adult night out for the numerous Franklin neighbors, teachers and administrators who attended.

We hope to see you!

The FEF offer the opportunity to train you as a dealer (roulette or blackjack) if you are interested. Dealers can work as little as an hour or arrange to work as long as desired. Please contact Elise Nulton (lcnot at comcast dot net) if you would like further information.

Where do some conversations turns come from?Have you ever followed a conversation and found an unexpected turn?Such that you asked yourself: Where did that turn come from?

This weekend, PodCampers preparing for Boston 2 were talking in email about the schedule; how many sessions we could have, how they would be arranged. A good discussion on logistic details. Need to be prepare for this one. Expecting at least 3 times more people than we had last year. Last year (also the first year) expectations were just to have one. Now, a year later, many other PodCamps have been held. This was the original, it should be good (i.e. better than last year). Can't have folks coming and finding a disorganized mess. And then the conversation took a left turn. Left most of us standing. Wondering where that came from.

This has been known to happen at home too.Why after being married for so long does it matter that the socks are inside or out?How did we get there?Oh, my t-shirt was inside out on Friday.So what has that got to do with the socks?Does it really matter?

... Google's enormous reserves of user information, stored in dozens of secretive data centers across the world, and the literally photographic memory of the Internet Archive, which preserves billions of defunct Web pages for posterity, are enough to leave anyone rattled. New forms of memory are permanent and accessible from anywhere. As their reach grows, scholars are asking if now - perhaps for the first time in human history - we need to find ways to forget.

"We used to have a system in which we forgot things easily and had to invest energy in remembering," says Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, an associate professor of public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. "Now we're switching to a system in which we remember everything and have to invest energy in order to forget. That's an enormous transformation."

and this:

The personal costs of this reality are clear, but there may be broader social costs as well. "What a lot of people forget - no pun intended - is that forgetting is hard-wired," says Mayer-Schönberger. "Cognitively and sociologically, we've never had to develop the capacity to forget or to put things in temporal perspective, because forgetting was built in biologically."

So trying to memorize the times table is a waste of time?

Are we going to need to spend some time in school and do homework to practice forgetting?

If Dolores and I had not been to the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, this would have been fantastic. It is smaller than the one in Niagara Falls but certainly a whole lot closer and thereby qualifies as a "hidden gem" for Massachusetts.

What kind of picture:The picture will be of something seen from the sidewalk or road while walking, or riding a bike or car. All pictures will be found within the confines of geographical Franklin. The picture should be something of beauty, specialness, architectural, natural or the like that is found within Franklin.

One big question is whether a Dilbert movie would be traditional animation, CGI, or live actors. I think live actors is the way to go, with CGI for Dogbert, Catbert, and other talking creatures. That allows you to have star power for the main characters, and it differentiates it from the old animated Dilbert TV show.

The plot I imagine involves an origin of Dogbert as a talking dog. It’s Dilbert’s first day of work, after college, and he causes an accident in the technology lab that releases something into the water supply. The pollutant starts to change regular dogs and cats into talking animals over the course of the movie. So Dogbert would be a regular dog in the beginning, with no glasses, but be walking upright before long. From there on, talking animals would just have jobs like regular people, and none of the human characters would give it much thought.

Tell me you wouldn’t watch that.

If you know any wealthy people who want to invest in a Dilbert movie, e-mail me at "scott adams at aol dot com".

1 How I Use Facebook2 Ways I Embrace My Audience3 Should My Town Use Social Media?4 A Community I Love5 Technology That Empowers Me6 How Flickr Did it Right7 How Best to Comment on a Corporate Blog8 Ways to Save a Bad Time at a Conference9 How I Find Blogging Ideas10 Somebody Has to Say It11 My Children Will Do it Differently12 How Schools Could Use Social Media13 The Best Parts of Marketing14 Presentation Skills for a New Conversation15 How I Find Time to Make Media16 Empower Your Best Customers17 After the Event- Carrying the Conversation Forward18 Just Jump Into Podcasting- Heres How19 My Community and How You Can Engage It20 Twitter Jaiku Pownce Facebook- And Then What21 Making a Miniseries22 If I Were an Advertiser Today23 My Mother is On Facebook24 Does a Big Brand Need You25 Books I Want to Write26 Serving the Deep Niches- How I Do It27 How Women Use Social Media28 A Hard Look at My Media Habits29 If I Were a Television Producer30 Social Media Marketing vs Traditional Marketing31 Elements of a Marketing Campaign32 Social Media Campaigns are NOT Traditional Campaigns33 Idea Making and How I Make Something34 What I Spend Money On35 Do Rock Stars Need Social Media Strategies36 How I Use My Website37 Book Shopping- Buy These Books38 MTV Changed the World in the 80s- Here is What Comes Next39 How I Process Blogs and What I Do With All That Info40 Ten Guilty Pleasures41 The Internet Application I Havent Seen42 If I Worked for a Venture Capital Firm43 My Day Job Versus My Passion44 The Difference Between Fark and Truemors45 Fixing Conferences46 Making Marketplaces for Media Makers47 When I Feel Frustrated48 Branding Strategies I Use49 Your Ideas And My Ideas- How We Play Together50 Friends I Cant Wait to Meet51 The Art of Chaos52 Telling My Boss About Social Media53 Could I Quit My Day Job54 When to Cut Back on Web Habits55 Breaking Down My Favorite Blog56 Explaining Social Media to Your Chamber of Commerce57 Non-Internet Equivalents to Internet Tools I Use58 Considering Media for the Rest of the Globe59 Twitter is Too Simple- Twitter is Just Right60 The Future of Podcasting61 Video Made Simple62 Facebook Applications I Love63 You Are Here64 Blogging Tactics- How to Keep it Fresh65 I Want to Brag A Minute66 Who Says What About Your Brand67 Tools for Blogging68 Wordpress Plugins I Use And Why69 Media Topics That Need More Coverage70 Comments versus Blog Posts71 How I Drive Traffic to My Site72 News- Is it Useful and How I Might Fix It73 Which TV Network Gets Videoblogging and PodCasting74 Franchising My Media75 Handling Critics76 My Audio Tricks77 Ning Sites I Like and Why78 Controlling My Brand79 Sharing and Contributing80 How Twitter Improved My Blog81 Email After Twitter82 Facebook Video Improved My Social Network83 Letting Go84 Downtime- What I Do Offline to Recharge85 How I Went From Very Shy to Less Shy86 The RIGHT Number to Track for Podcasting87 PodCamp Has to Change88 Shaking Things Up89 Joining A Network- Things to Consider90 Newspapers and How I Would Change Them91 Interview With a Veteran92 The Countries of My Social Media World93 Giving it Away94 Consulting Strategies for Social Media Experts95 Turning Media into a Business Card96 Podcasting on a Budget97 For Every Excuse a New Strategy98 Just When I Think I Am Done99 Buying Gear- My Shopping Tips for Podcasters100 When is Free Better- When Not

I heard about this on Monday and checked when I got home. I knew I had bought some of this lettuce on the weekend. There were updated news articles on Monday and one did not list MA as a state with delivery of the lettuce. The product code was also different than the article I found in the Milford Daily News which shows a positive match for the lettuce we did buy.

It is no longer ready to eat.

If you do hear of a food recall, keep in contact with the updates. The information may change along the way. It did in this case.

Norfolk, for some reasons known to themselves, have not lived up to their end of the 1993 agreement on water by either returning the water provided, and providing some $43,000. Franklin has therefore initiated a termination of the agreement as part of the process to reach a more equitable agreement to this situation.

Norfolk will get a year notice to allow their 13 residents to find another water source after Franklin terminates the agreement, unless there is a resolution along the way.

A new desktop PC today is 10 times more powerful than one from about three years ago, but most of us don't use our PCs any differently. According to startup NComputing, that means we should only need to buy a tenth as many.

The NComputing technology is essentially a combination of KVM switching and virtualization, turning any desktop PC into something like a thin client server. Instead of a full PC, individual users get a small box that NComputing calls an access terminal. The box has connectors for a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, with optional audio, microphone, and USB ports. Multiple access terminals connect to a single PC, presenting each user with a personal Windows (or Linux) desktop.

I frequently link to the Boston Globe but infrequently to the NY Times primarily because of access. In most cases, I can grab the RSS feed for the Globe link which doesn't require a login to access the article. If you were required to login, it at least was for free.

The NY Times was worse. They actually charged for access to many articles. But no more!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The girl from the new Ipod Nano commercial does have a real catchy tune!

Turns out the iPod girl is actually a singer-songwriter who goes by the name of "Feist." She's Leslie Feist, a 31-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter who's recorded a bunch of albums, the most recent of which is 2007's The Reminder.

Monday, September 17, 2007

More than a third of Bridgewater municipal employees are slated to be laid off, and Bridgewater State College is stepping in to provide some basic public services, in the wake of the town's narrow defeat of a $2 million override.

Over the past century and a half, our top universities have embraced a research-driven ideal that has squeezed the question of life's meaning from the college curriculum, limiting the range of questions teachers feel they have the right and authority to teach. And in the process it has badly weakened the humanities, the disciplines with the oldest and deepest connection to this question, leaving them directionless and vulnerable to being hijacked for political ends.

But the encouraging news is that there is, today, a growing hunger among students to explore these topics. As questions of spiritual urgency - abortion, creationism, the destruction of the environment - move to the center of debate in our society, America's colleges and universities have a real opportunity to give students the tools to discuss them at a meaningful level.

and this:

The question of life's meaning is a worry of the spirit. Our colleges and universities need to reclaim their authority to speak to the subject, in a conversation broader than any church alone can conduct. The beneficiaries, in the end, will be both their students and the culture they will inherit.

and this:

Can the meaning of life be studied independent of religion? There are many who doubt that it can. They say that any program of this sort must rest on religious beliefs, which have lost their status as a source of authority in higher education. But that is a mistake. For even after the rise of the research university, with its secular and scientific culture, there were humanists who believed that the question of life's meaning can be studied in a disciplined but nonreligious way. Their approach gives us a model to follow today.

and this: (Bold mine for emphasis)

These programs differ in many ways, and inevitably reflect the culture of their schools; some are mandatory and others, like Yale's Directed Studies, are elective. But despite their differences, all rest on a set of common assumptions, which together define a shared conception of humane education.

The first is that there is more than one good answer to the question of what living is for. A second is that the number of such answers is limited, making it possible to study them in an organized way. A third is that the answers are irreconcilably different, necessitating a choice among them. A fourth is that the best way to explore these answers is to study the great works of philosophy, literature, and art in which they are presented with lasting beauty and strength. And a fifth is that their study should introduce students to the great conversation in which these works are engaged - Augustine warily admiring Plato, Hobbes reworking Aristotle, Paine condemning Burke, Eliot recalling Dante, recalling Virgil, recalling Homer - and help students find their own authentic voice as participants in the conversation.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

I extend an offer to conduct and post an interview with you here. The interview can be either text or audio.

You are running to conduct business on behalf of Franklin. Together we can share your views, your objectives and help to spread the word to create an informed voter.

Send me an email (shersteve at gmail dot com) and we can arrange a mutually convenient time.

Be aware that this is my hobby conducted solely in my non-working hours and totally unrelated to the business that my company pays me for. I do this for fun and education. If it stops being that way, I will stop. This is not an advertising site. This is an information creation site.Formal disclosure.

Where has time gone? It seems like yesterday. Yet, I look back into the archives, occasionally come across a piece and say to myself: "I wrote that?"

As I announced in August, the focus of my writing has evolved. This blog continues to develop a conversation around life and living in Franklin. I am capturing my father's oral history at Jerry's Story. Continuing to write and podcast on running at Passionate Runner. Continuing to write (and soon to be podcasting) my poetry at quiet poet. Along with a fantastic group of friends met through the internet, we explore the net and showcase our findings at the Hitchhikers Guide. I explore life long learning in a group setting at the Joyful Jubilant Learning blog. I explore connecting the unconnected at 100 Bloggers.

So you can see, this it is all related, I think.

Thank you for visiting.

I am grateful for the comments and conversation we have had. This is fuel for continuing.

Let me know how I can help you. Drop me an email (shersteve at gmail dot com) or leave a comment with some manner of continuing the conversation.

Matthew Kelly, a write in candidate in 2005, took out papers for the School Committee. This provides a slate of seven candidates (6 incumbents and one newcomer) (excluding any write-in efforts) for the November election.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Good: it handles CoComment very nicely. I have had trouble with CoComment on some blogs (particularly Typepad) where it takes multiple transmits to get the comment recorded and get by the captcha challenge with the normal IE or Firefox window. In ajaxWindows, it works just as it is supposed to.

Bad: Blogger has the recent auto save implemented. I have found instances where even though you have made a change, it doesn't provide you with a "Save" option. Usually with either IE or Firefox, by going to the preview, I end up finding one of the two "Save" buttons active, the other not. Within ajaxWindows, no such luck. Try as I might, the save button won't go active after the auto save kicks in.

If you happen to try out ajaxWindows, let me know how it goes for you.

Note: I have not yet created an account and used any of the auto synch features. The demo is what I have used thus far to try this out.

Michael Morton does a good job following the stories as they develop. Why do some appear in the Milford Daily News, some in the Gazette, some in both (the ongoing Brick School story), and some not at all?

I found it most noticeable this week. I wrote about the School Committee meeting on Tuesday night.

As a former teacher and husband of a Franklin teacher, I understand that some may not be happy with the settlement calling for increases of 2, 2, and 2.5 percent over the next three years.

Given the economic circumstances, this is a good deal.

The major issue is how much does society value teachers? Why do sports personalities earn so much more than someone responsible for educating the future leaders of this town? This issue is not going to get resolved here. Franklin is not going to step up to determine that their teachers should be the best paid in the commonwealth or country even though they may be the best!

Michael Morton's article in the Milford Daily News follows up on the report during Tuesday night's School Committee meeting that high school students were upset with the increase in school lunch prices.

That's gotten a lot of attention," junior Brittany MacLeod told the School Committee on Tuesday night. MacLeod, a past student government member who now serves as the committee's student representative, added, "I'm not too pleased with paying $2.75 for a hot dog."

It should get a lot of attention. Superintendent Ogden didn't go far enough when he called it :

a "lesson in effecting change" for the students.

It should also be a lesson in economics.

Brittany have you tried buying a hot dog at Six Flags? or Fenway Park? or Gillette Stadium?

One basic economic principle you should learn applies here: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch! or TANSTAFL.

This is a great opportunity to understand the economics of a portion of the school budget.

Then you can begin to understand the real problem that this town faces in trying to sustain a level of service in times of increasing costs and tight money.

Then when someone tells you that Franklin only pays half of what it costs to educate our own students (the remainder come from the generous folks of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) and that Franklin is greatly reluctant in increasing taxes to pay anything more (only one operational override passed of 7 offered to the voters), you begin to understand the problem the town faces.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Seth has some great insights. This is his summary, be sure to click through to read the full piece. It is not long, just long enough to make the point effectively.

Hamas leverages and extends its power with the Palestinians by providing health care in neighborhoods. That's the message that gets through to the people on the ground. Every action a group (any group) takes tells a story. What's that story? Does it spread? When it spreads, how does that story affect the conversations that people have with each other? If the NYPD is right (and I think their analysis of how this meme spreads is right) then the most important thing our government can do is discuss what sort of ideavirus they are working to spread. And then take action. And spread the right story in the right way.

What's the story? What is the TSA 'saying' in their work at LAX? What is the brave soldier saying as she does her stint in Takrit? What does the NYPD or the school district or the local hospital say as they interact with immigrants in their daily lives?

I guarantee you I don't know the answer.I don't know where we should send troops and how long we should stay there. I don't know who to arrest and what to look for. But I do know this: it's a marketing problem, the most important one we face. By and large, the marketing is being done by people who don't see that we have a marketing problem. Understanding the words and concepts behind the ideavirus is the critical next step in spreading the right message to the people who need to hear it.

I sat in my office six years ago, looking south along the Hudson and watching our world change. I don't think anyone could have predicted then where we'd be now. I'm hopeful that by looking forward, we can market our way to better place. Thousands of brave people have sacrificed for our safety and peace of mind. I'm grateful to them. The next step is to get smart about strategy and marketing.

Or if you like to have me continue to filter the news for you, please be sure to subscribe to my postings via email or RSS feed. Both subscription options can be found in the top right corner of the page (under my profile).

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

"Earlier this week, I spoke with Commissioner Goodell about a videotaping procedure during last Sunday's game and my interpretation of the rules. At this point, we have not been notified of the league's ruling. Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership, staff and players. Following the league's decision, I will have further comment."

"I think that the Patriots live by the saying, 'If you're not cheating, you're not trying,'" San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson was quoted as saying Tuesday. "I'm not surprised because you keep hearing the different stories (and) people complaining about the stuff that they do."

This is so sad. Trust has just vanished!

When I go to Gillette Stadium to watch the NE Revolution play I will have trouble looking at the Super Bowl banners hung high around the stadium and wonder:

If a Belichick could check a signal, how many signals would a Belichick check?

Michael Morton's article in the Milford Daily News today has details on which 6 current School Committee members are running for re-election. The seventh is not running again for election leaving a spot open.

Keller has five kindergartens and the enrollment still exceeds the School Committee guidelines (some classes with 24 when the recommendation is 21).

The considered adding a six class but there are only five rooms currently sized for kindergarten. The recommended action is to add an ESP to assist in managing the kindergarten classrooms.

The proposal is to add the ESP now, and consider adding a sixth 1st grade next year to reduce the class size.

The additional funding for the ESP would come from the extra revenue that was received with the increase in school choice students accepted. Some of the money has already been re-allocated for an additional fourth grade teacher to address class size issues at Keller also.

Bottomline: as Odgen just mentioned, this is really an effect of the $2 million dollars missing from this years budget. It is an acceptable solution but Odgen avoided saying a "good" solution.

Result: Motion to increase one ESP using the revenue mentioned was approved.

Michele Kingsland-Smith, Director of Instructional Servicesis presenting to the School Committee at the regular meeting tonight. I think she just said that the open circle program in K-5 addresses health and fitness.

Excuse me... open circle addresses fitness and health... maybe by talking about it! You can't get much fitness by walking around the circle. Open circle will help social competency but not physical fitness.

Oh, she just re-stated herself and it made more sense. Franklin is "in compliance" with the state recommendations but is not in compliance with the Federal recommendations.

We have cut our health and physical education opportunities in half recently. Gee, I am not surprised. Can anyone say budget cuts!

A recipe that has been in the family for sometime turns out to be quite popular, at least according to Google there are dozens of hits for the terms "shipwreck casserole".

Dolores and I are settling back into our "school routine". She teaches kindergarten and does a bunch of prep work on the weekends, so I do the food shopping and major meal cooking. We did swordfish on the grill Sunday night and were discussing the week's schedule over dinner. Shipwreck casserole was planned for Monday and whomever got home first would put it together. As we double checked the recipe we realized it would require 1 1/2 hours cook time. So depending when we got home, we could be eating late.

I decided to prepare it after cleaning the dishes tonight to allow us to get ahead of the curve. After I completed it and sat to write, a sherku popped up and then I went a "googling" as mentioned when this started.

Here is our version (our modifications are referenced at the end) of Shipwreck casserole

brown beef, line bottom of baking dishadd chopped onionspeel and slice potatoes thinlyadd potatoes to baking dish on top of onionsadd shredded cheesethen baked beans and finally top with tomato soup

cover securely with tinfoil, bake for 1.5 hours at 350 degrees F

Modifications

I prefer to saute the onions with a little oil and add the beef to the frying pan to cook togetherUsually we will substitute ground turkey for the beef

when comparing the cooking time on the other recipes, this can be done quicker (1.5 hours) as the beef (or turkey) is already pre-cooked. The casserole is really only cooking the potatoes in the steam created by the liquids under the cover of the tin foil.

We've come to the place where everything is musicEverything is music, let it play.

Why do you stay in jail when the door is wide open?Let the beauty that you love be what you do.

Stop talking now, open up the windowThe one right there in the middle of your heartGive us your hands, sit down in this circleYou know you got no need to keep yourself apart

Today you wake up sad and empty, don't go back to sleep.There's a million ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

Don't worry now, about saving all these songs,There's so many more just waiting to be found.And if all these instruments should disappearWe would still hear something coming up from way down in the ground

Because we've come to the place where everything is musicEverything is music, let it play.

Kris Delmhorst sang this Friday night. I picked up the album and am listening to the wonderful lyrics, marveling at how she did what she did. "Some of the poems are set verbatim to music, some dismantled and reassembled in significantly new renditions, others merely used as the jumping-off point for Delmhorst's own literate lyrical take."

For more background check out here and here (the original poem by Robert Browning)

Galuppi Baldassare

Oh Galuppi Baldassare, though I never knew your name,it’s thanks to Mr. Browning you are with us just the same.Thanks to Mr. Browning, blowing on the flame…

Well here you come with your old music, and here’s all the good it brings-you say they lived like this in Venice when the merchants were the kings,and though I never left old Boston, still you showed me everything

Did the young folks take their pleasure? Was the ocean warm in May?Did the parties start at midnight, did they roll until midday?And did the ladies bloom like bellflowers, every time you’d start to play?

Well I bet that they all loved you, I bet they stood around and cheered,saying “that’s what I call music, good for joy and good for tears,now let’s stop all this talking, and let it fill our ears.”

And the minor third so bitter, the six chord like a sigh,suspension, solution, asking must we die, must we die must we die?And the seventh says well fellas, life might not last, but we can try…

So were you happy? I was happy. You still happy? Yes, and you?Then more kisses! Why’d we stop them, when a million seemed so few?There’s something in that music, lord it must be answered to.

Then they left you for their fortune, in due time one by one.Some had lives that came to nothing, some did things they’d better not have done,and then death stepped up and took em where they’ll never see the sun…

Oh but you you ghostly cricket, singing where the house has burned,‘dust and ashes, dead and done with, Venice spent what Venice earned,’but what’s left behind I wonder, when the kissing has adjourned?

‘Dust and ashes,’ so you tell me, and I cannot say you’re wrong,still those dear dead dancing ladies with their hair so soft and longstir a little in their slumber, every time we play your song.

‘Cause the minor third’s still bitter, the six chord makes us sigh,suspension, solution, asking must we die, must we also die?And the seventh still says well, life might not last, but we can try…

We are passing this world on to our kidsFrom the day when they climb from their cribsWe'll try and teach them well, show them that they're lovedBut in the end all we can do is hope our best was good enoughThey'll witness how this life can be so beautiful and cruelWe can't shelter them forever but if we show them all the toolsThey might leave this world in a little better shape than me and youWe are only passing through

Passing through, passing throughWe are only passing throughPassing through, passing throughWe are only passing through

We are watching this world from our living roomsNear forty years since we walked on the moonThis big blue ball is shrinking and I don't know if that's goodBut for better or for worse now this whole world's our neighborhoodAnd there's no place left to run to, to stay above the frayWe better learn to get along not just to get our wayNot only for each other but our children's children tooWe are only passing through

Passing through, passing throughWe are only passing throughPassing through, passing throughWe are only passing through

And I wonder sometimes what will I pass onHow much can one voice do with just a songSometimes injustice and indifference are all that I seeBut I refuse to let my hope become the latest casualtySo I'll sing of love and truth and try to practice what I preachIf I can't change the world, I'll change the world within my reachWhat better place to start than here and now with me and youWe are only passing through

Passing through, passing throughWe are only passing throughPassing through, passing throughWe are only passing throughWe are only passing through

Friday, September 07, 2007

Recall the economic adage: TANSTAFL? There ain't no such thing as a free lunch! Someone still need to pay.

What do we need to provide for?

Well, here’s what. First, the venue is paid for by VON - thank you to Jeff Pulver and the VON conference for their venue sponsorship valued at $50,000. The only reason PodCamp can be held at the Boston Convention and Expo Center is due to their generosity. However, their sponsorship covers the venue and insurance, but we still need to bring in money for things like Internet access ($3,500 PER LINE), electrical outlets (yes, venues like the BCEC charge per outlet), plus amenities like shirts, etc.

So if you can afford to donate some amount to help this gathering or to help sponsor the conference, please click here

For her winning bid, Billig submitted four ideas. The one chosen by the committee features a 12-year-old boy - modeled after several acquaintances since her grandsons are now too old or too young - sitting on a pile of library books while reading from a single volume. The boy wears overalls, work boots and a buttoned-up shirt and waves a straw hat in the air. At his feet, a shaggy dog stands on its hind legs.

and

In giving the sculptor guidance, Piana said she and the committee members wanted the work to be inviting and universal, rather than an imposing facsimile of a specific figure from the town's past, such as the bronze Benjamin Franklin statue on the library's steps.

"We want children to really go up,'' she said of the boy and dog work. The sculpture is being paid for with a $40,000 state grant secured in last year's budget by state Rep. James Vallee, D-Franklin, with some of those funds also used for new town welcome signs, holiday decorations, and trash and recycling bins. When the senior center moves to a new location on Daniel McCahill Way this fall, its old site will be landscaped and its old structure inspected before the museum takes over.

As a former teacher and husband of a Franklin teacher, I think they got the best deal for today. I agree that teachers overall are undervalued but correcting that situation is not possible given the Franklin financial situation.